Happy New Year everyone! Here comes a small update to Sound Horizons that should make the last part of its levels more accessible. This "final boss" section was the trickiest one to balance. I wanted a tougher challenge to conclude the level, with some kind of higher stakes. But it wasn't meant to be a barrier! During development, I changed it more than once to lower down its difficulty. However it still wasn't enough, as even after the release some players complained that they couldn't beat it. Even when they managed the previous parts with ease! One frequent complain was that failing at this boss makes you go back to the previous stage, forcing you to complete it again. This design choice had several reasons (technical & musical), but this back-and-forth does make this section needlessly repetitive and frustrating. In the accessibility settings, there was an option to prevent leveling down. On the final stage, this simply resets it to its beginning on failure. This is now the default behavior. When you fail twice against the boss, if you have at least completed 1/4 of its duration, then the stage resets and allows you to try it again immediately. Still difficult, but way less punitive, and should let you focus more and better keep its pace!
I couldn't resist to spice it up a bit though. So I randomized the patterns played so that it is never the same twice! It still has more or less the same difficulty, but with less predictability. I hope this update will help you finish the game if you haven't yet! And if you still feel stuck, don't forget to check the accessibility options.

[previewyoutube=S0rsesfaUuk;full][/previewyoutube] Introducing One Colorful Grid, a new level added to Sound Horizons. This was originally made during a game jam in 2020. It was actually the starting point of Sound Horizons! You can now enjoy it with improved visuals, and a smoother difficulty curve. Don't expect it to be tender though: this level is more nervous than the first one! It takes inspiration from arcade games to deliver an intense experience that tests your sense of timing.

I hope you'll enjoy this extra level! I won't be creating new ones before a while. But I still plan to add one other mode to the game next year.

I'm very glad that some of you enjoy Sound Horizons! The feedbacks I've received were very encouraging and insightful. One critic that came frequently was that the game is too hard, especially near the end. This was a known issue during development, and it seems that it wasn't quite completely fixed. Sure, Sound Horizons is designed to be challenging, but it shouldn't be insurmontable either. So for those of you who couldn't finish the game (or its tricky second mode), this update is for you! I have made some small but critical adjustments to make the game a bit more fair:

• First, I added a bit of drums during the ending sequence. Changing the rhythm and removing percussions are fun ideas, but they are too mean when combined together. This should make this part less unpredictable!
• Secondly, I implemented a "display grid" accessibility setting, that lets you see all beats on the track. It should be handy for players who struggle with rhythm!
• And finally, I adjusted the brightness at some parts to make the blocks more readable. Turns out white on top of white wasn't the best in term of readability.